Cotswold and Panamoz

Amazon give me a one time passcode for expensive items.

If I go back to FF I will be ordering from Panamoz and the like. I have spent a fortune (haven't we all) with UK firms but the savings for the next purchase (if there is one) is going to be the difference between an extra lens or not, like a 24-70 mm F2.8.
 
hashcake said:
That's really strange with Amazon.
I've not bought any bodies or lenses from them but everything electronic over £100 I've been given a passcode for at least a few years.
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I see them leave parcels on door steps more or less every day around here. My next door neighbours son works for courier, (not amazon) and he tells me they simply dont have time to knock and wait at every house. If they do that they cant finish the round or whatever it's called. They dont even have time for food stops.
I think it's more pressure from the company to finish the route than the actual drivers not caring.
 
It's here
Very impressive, ordered last Tuesday and delivered today.
I'll certainly be buying again from Cotswold cameras.
 

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We are very lucky round here. The mainstream couriers (DPD and Evri especially) always have time for a chat, sometimes stopping in the street to talk. Royal Mail are similarly great. And although Amazon are all self-employed drivers, in the main they are pretty good, but they seem to be the ones under the most pressure. But then, who wouldn’t be driving around the Dales with no large towns.
 
Even evri around here has improved there delivery system.. I find dpd is the best real time tracking system though ..
 
the black fox said:
Even evri around here has improved there delivery system.. I find dpd is the best real time tracking system though ..
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And the most accurate for timescales.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Amazon tends to be expensive in my experience, yes you get stuff next day (mostly) but it's also likely to be left on your doorstep or chucked over your 6 foot high gate (or a neighbours down the road) I've had all three, and I've found soaked parcels for my neighbour left in my recycling bags that the bin men had thrown back on my path.
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I trust that you reported these poor experiences to Amazon?

There is no way that things will improve unless people provide honest feedback.
 
Ordered the Nikon 400mm Z f/4.5 from Panamoz on Wednesday 14th May 25 arrived yesterday morning Monday 19th May 25 via UPS.
Russ.
 
Spoke to HDEW on the phone this morning regarding a lens I wanted, and he said it was in stock and I should get it within about 3 days. We'll see.
 
nandbytes said:
They are cheaper because they smuggle in cameras on your behalf and hence avoid paying import duty.
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My mate ‘Dave’ has bought several items from Panamoz and Cotswolds and had excellent service from both, even with returns, exchanges and warranty fixes.

I of course would never buy from such places :police: :D
 
snerkler said:
My mate ‘Dave’ has bought several items from Panamoz and Cotswolds and had excellent service from both, even with returns, exchanges and warranty fixes.
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Funny that, my mate Bob also had the same experience. Dave and Bob, thick as thieves they are.

snerkler said:
I of course would never buy from such places :police: :D
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Of course not, we are all good here.
 
I find it interesting that Panamoz have escaped one compulsory striking off the Companies House Register (action discontinued October 2024) but another first request for striking off has been issued in the Gazette (10/06/2025) and their accounts are overdue.

Not the most reassuring prospect if you are dependant on them to supply your guarantee in the future rather than the fairly dependable one you would get from, say, Canon if you paid the normal price.
 
John_L said:
I find it interesting that Panamoz have escaped one compulsory striking off the Companies House Register (action discontinued October 2024) but another first request for striking off has been issued in the Gazette (10/06/2025) and their accounts are overdue.

Not the most reassuring prospect if you are dependant on them to supply your guarantee in the future rather than the fairly dependable one you would get from, say, Canon if you paid the normal price.
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As Panamoz are based in Hong Kong I doubt that applies to them :)
 
John_L said:
Canon if you paid the normal price.
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That's the thing though, there's often a large saving to be made when buying from an importer and for some it might well be worth the gamble.

Another reason for buying from importers is sometimes the kit isn't unavailable in the UK. At the moment I can't remember what lens it was but I do remember buying from an importer when the kit just couldn't be found from a UK seller.
 
John_L said:
I find it interesting that Panamoz have escaped one compulsory striking off the Companies House Register (action discontinued October 2024) but another first request for striking off has been issued in the Gazette (10/06/2025) and their accounts are overdue.

Not the most reassuring prospect if you are dependant on them to supply your guarantee in the future rather than the fairly dependable one you would get from, say, Canon if you paid the normal price.
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Interesting, how do you find this info? I can see on companies house that the accounts are overdue but cannot see anything about striking off?

The Panamoz registered on companies house is also a UK address and started in 2023 so I'm not exactly sure what this is because Panamoz have been going much longer than 2 years :thinking:
 
snerkler said:
Interesting, how do you find this info? I can see on companies house that the accounts are overdue but cannot see anything about striking off?

The Panamoz registered on companies house is also a UK address and started in 2023 so I'm not exactly sure what this is because Panamoz have been going much longer than 2 years :thinking:
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Companies House filings refer to FIRST G A Z E T T E N O T I C E (for striking off) and also STRIKING OFF ACTION DISCONTINUED. Under the filings tab.

I doubt it makes much difference as this is unlikely to be the company you buy from.
 
Brentor said:
Companies House filings refer to FIRST G A Z E T T E N O T I C E (for striking off) and also STRIKING OFF ACTION DISCONTINUED. Under the filings tab.

I doubt it makes much difference as this is unlikely to be the company you buy from.
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No I can't see them stopping trading or anything like that, but it does appear slightly dodgy. I see that Cotswold's also dissolved in 2024 but also started a new company is 2022.

To be honest none of it bothers me per se, it's really none of my business how they conduct their businesses.
 
snerkler said:
No I can't see them stopping trading or anything like that, but it does appear slightly dodgy. I see that Cotswold's also dissolved in 2024 but also started a new company is 2022.

To be honest none of it bothers me per se, it's really none of my business how they conduct their businesses.
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I do not understand the set up of these cos. I expect that the UK cos are just agents for the HK cos and that you are trading with the HK cos.

I have not bought from either co (yet) but for those that have who invoices you and who provides the warranty?
 
Brentor said:
I do not understand the set up of these cos. I expect that the UK cos are just agents for the HK cos and that you are trading with the HK cos.

I have not bought from either co (yet) but for those that have who invoices you and who provides the warranty?
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They themselves provide the warranty. You send it to Sony, Canon etc and the company pick up the bill.
 
gramps said:
Actually Panamoz pay up front on quote from the repairer!
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They do but you have to send the camera in first to get the repair quote (y)
 
RE the striking off order. It would depend on who your contract/sale was with. Even though they are UK agents for a foreign company if your contract of sale is with the UK company and they get struck off, then start up a new company - your contract is effectivly null and void so whether they will honor the warrenty repayment if this were to happen is another question. It is a contract of trust though irrespective of this.

its an interesting one, especially given my mate stan who has bought a lot from them lately including some very high value items.
 
I did use E-Infinity for years but when I needed to make a claim on warranty it was not great. Basically my A7iv needed a new sensor and they told me to send it to Sony for a quote. I did this and it came back at £630. E-Infinity said that was too much and would only pay £400. They did give the option to send it back to Hong Kong but having paid postage to Sony and the fee for them to look at it, it was not worth it, so I took the hit. Considering I have saved roughly 3k buying from them loosing £230 was no big deal. However I now use Panomoz as those who have made a claim say they are way better at dealing with it.
 
these "grey importers" tend not to do MFT cameras and lenses. The alternative I am doing now is buying direct from Japan . Even paying import/vat etc still a lot cheaper than buying from uk retailers. Near mint is to us like new. I saved over £400 on a 35-100mm f2.8 Lumix MFT Leica vario- elmarit lens. this was even after import duties etc


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realspeed said:
these "grey importers" tend not to do MFT cameras and lenses. The alternative I am doing now is buying direct from Japan . Even paying import/vat etc still a lot cheaper than buying from uk retailers. Near mint is to us like new. I saved over £400 on a 35-100mm f2.8 Lumix MFT Leica vario- elmarit lens
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I have had Oly kit from E-Infin, Panamoz, and Cotswold, so they most certainly do m4/3.
 
GreenNinja67 said:
Don't forget HDEW.

My first stop for anything Olympus / OM Systems
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Of course, how could I forget? Super UK service at the end of a phone.
 
Brentor said:
According to Dave?
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Also according to me, with first hand experience. They also payed the express return shipping that I chose as an option too, which I don’t think they were really obliged to do.
When the fault reoccurred 7 1/2 months later they were also prepared to pay a second time but in this instance Canon repaired (well, actually replaced the lens) on their own dime.
 
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A_S said:
RE the striking off order. It would depend on who your contract/sale was with. Even though they are UK agents for a foreign company if your contract of sale is with the UK company and they get struck off, then start up a new company - your contract is effectivly null and void so whether they will honor the warrenty repayment if this were to happen is another question. It is a contract of trust though irrespective of this.

its an interesting one, especially given my mate stan who has bought a lot from them lately including some very high value items.
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My invoices are from the HK registered company, so no clucks given about some UK based setup.
 
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Stephen L said:
I have had Oly kit from E-Infin, Panamoz, and Cotswold, so they most certainly do m4/3.
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They don't do Panasonic cameras and lenses in MFT format or even anything Panasonic that I could see. As I would only stick with Panasonic as I said the alternative is to buy direct from Japan
 
realspeed said:
They don't do Panasonic cameras and lenses in MFT format or even anything Panasonic that I could see. As I would only stick with Panasonic as I said the alternative is to buy direct from Japan
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Cotswold, Panamoz and e-infinity do sell Panasonic MFT with Cotswold have the biggest selection. Another company to use for Panasonic is CamerasDori. They have good selection of Panasonic and Olympus/OM Systems cameras and lenses.
 
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